I started riding regularly when I was 8 years old. Having lived in different cities and countries, I got to know many different horses of different breeds. Also when we went on vacation, my father used to do the tour of the equestrian centers in the area and I would go behind (ideal for enriching the curriculum).

I mainly practiced jumping and dressage, but I was also able to try western riding. I am one of those who think that a horse can and should do everything. Riding for a horse is no less a school of gymnastics.

Thirty years ago, there was little or no talk of ethology, how a horse learns or its biomechanics. At this time there was no YouTube or Internet to learn, but I was fortunate to have dozens of my father’s books on hand. That is when, after so much reading, one begins to have doubts and then many questions arise.

I felt that I was missing something apart from the “traditional” method and I came to “ethological horsemanship” for a specific horse. He was an American horse named “Tchuncka” with a strong character and quite imposing. The traditional approach could not be applied to this horse, he was not well educated. He had no vices as such, but was simply a stallion horse, with a lot of strength, who had covered several times, lived in a mount with mares almost in freedom and who was gelded when he was 10 years old. His character was already established and it was necessary to re-educate him to make him a safe horse. After a year of daily work we managed to re-educate him, applying common sense and diverse methodologies. Things were not perfect, but what was achieved was already a great satisfaction for me and proof that things could be done differently.

Ethology is not a discipline, it is a science, the science of studying the behavior of an animal in its natural habitat. Ethological horsemanship is the missing link for almost all of us. I do not deny my origins, as I believe that “classical” horsemanship and “ethological” riding should go hand in hand.

In the 21st century, we have no excuse, we cannot ignore it. Having equestrian technique is useless if you don’t understand the animal. It took me almost 30 years to understand it. I regret that you may still see some teachers or students skipping this chapter altogether.

I have a preference for teachers who are committed to a cause and who involve science in their methodologies, such as Philippe Karl, Andy Booth or John Lyons. However, if one takes the trouble to write something, it is usually because one has something to tell and there are plenty of fascinating treatises from the most ancient to the most recent. In France, there is an equestrian legacy dating back to the 15th century with illustrious and innovative masters, participants in what Philippe Karl calls“French-style horsemanship“.